Performance Evaluation

Performance Evaluation.

This will be my evaluation of the play "Kids In Camp". I'm going to be discussing things that we did well, while also giving constructive criticism.

I found that rehearsals would become difficult when everyone had a lot of ideas and we would have to adapt them to suit everyone; so that everyone agreed. We also had to find ways to make it more immersive using the ideas we would make and when we didn't think it was good enough we would have to scrap it and restart with an idea; which could become difficult because we would become stuck on the idea we had. We also found it difficult to make it immersive because we didn't know how the audience would react to what we were doing; we had to be careful not to offend or upset anyone with the piece we were doing.

For my group Guantanamo Bay we developed an idea from the book "Guantanamo Boy" and we decided to use a chapter from the book using physical theatre and with audio extracts from the book playing in the background. We also decided to research about more in depth parts of our piece trying to focus on how the detainees might feel as well as be treated; this was so we could create a more realistic play. Other people said they developed their play by writing and developing their play and then deciding to edit certain parts. North Korea said that they were divided with what ideas they had and what ones they had to develop so that they would be able to all agree.

For my group Guantanamo Bay we developed most of our piece using lighting and props because we found that it gave our piece more atmosphere and we also knew that the flashing lights were used in Guantanamo Bay.

One piece from someone else's group that I liked was Camp America's entrance piece. I found that it was very immersive and uplifted the audiences spirits. I think that was a nice structured piece because the energy in the piece was high and was quite fun to watch.

The most important thing I learnt was that creating a play is more complicated then it seems and that even the small details matter. We researched a lot of things and added them to our pieces even though the audience might not have noticed we as the actors who created it knew they were there and we knew that those small details mattered to our piece.
Angel thought that technology sometimes can't always be relied on so there should always be a plan B in case something goes wrong and I agree because we have to be able to know what to do if something goes wrong.

I think the audience were shocked by the play that we showed them because it was based of such a real and serious topic that sometimes it could be overwhelming for the audience. But I think this was a good thing because it showed  them it a serious way that they would understand and would remember without having to actually be there. We got our point across and they understood what we were trying to say to them. Which is what we wanted to do.

My Ideas

I suggested that we print of images and stick them on the wall; as a group we discussed and and developed the idea until we decided to add newspaper articles.
I also came up with the idea to write on the walls with chalk; someone in the group then decided we should write things in arabic.

In our segment we have a scene based of a book which I found in the library called "Guantanamo Boy" this book contained true stories; So I thought it would be a good idea to use one of them and the group agreed.

Performance Proposal

Performance Proposal

I propose to make a play based of theme "Kids in camp"  in the form of promenade. The reason we are doing this is to help the audience have an immersive and memorable experience to make people question their actions. There will be different segments in the play showing different versions of "Kids in camp" like Camp America; Syrian refugees; Guantanamo Bay etc.  

The group that I will be participating in is Guantanamo Bay.The room we are using is small and has a small raised level to the right of the room. The room we are using has a wall of windows which will not show any light because of the time it is being shown which adds to the experience by putting realistic times into the performance. The lighting will be made from a light behind a screen and various small lights which will be hung from the ceiling; meaning the room will be dimly lit adding atmosphere. On the wall there will be Arabic writing to show that there are a multiple cultures involved. On the walls will also be newspaper articles showing various terrorist attacks and newspaper articles about Guantanamo that people can read if they feel the need. Small details will be added around the room like a quote from a detainee or a word which contains deep meaning. This will not be seen by everyone but will be seen by someone and makes it a more immersive experience. We don't use a lot of props because we want to focus on the emotion of the piece and making sure we interact with the audience.
We use a clip that someone made at the end of the performance which is emotional and adds to experience and will make the audience feel more guilty of the world that we live in.

Guantanamo News #2

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/guantanamo-bay-mistaken-identity/
This is to update myself on recent news

Guantanamo News

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/hillary-clinton-urged-obama-to-close-guantanamo-bay/

This is done to update myself on recent news

Props List

Props- 

Clear plastic tube
4x Orange Jumpsuits
4x plain black clothes
4x Bicycle lights
4x chairs
Water
Mini fake taser
stereo
white sheet
letters/newspapers

Week 2 stage design piece

Week 2- Stage design Piece.

Description:

The area we are working in for Guantanamo Bay is rectangle and has a small stage to the side. Along the top of the room there are black pipes.

Opportunities: 

We could use the whole room in our performance, moving from area to area creating different scenes as we go. The side stage could be used to create a sense of different levels; to create more atmosphere. The windows should be blacked out to create a more dark and gloomy affect; creating more emotion and feeling within the audience. We can create a good segment of the play in this room. We can have chairs in the room for the actors/ actresses for certain scenes we have ideas for and we can have a projector in the room to project images of Guantanamo Bay. The ceiling pipes can have strobe lights hanging from them to create a more exciting affect and can create a sense of shock and fear. We can make a good use of the walls by sticking newspaper articles up and covering the floor with them. We can also put them on the floor.

Good Immersive theatre companies:

http://punchdrunk.com/

http://www.colabtheatre.co.uk/

Week 3 -Performance Timeline & stylistic elements.

Time
1 MIN - Audience enters and the guards will shout at them to cause shock and panic.

Opinion- I believe that this will bring the audience straight into the play and make them understand immediately that this is a different segment of the play. 

2 MIN - Bring in the detainees and cavity check. We have the cavity check to make the audience feel              vulnerable and stay true to what really happens

Opinion- This can create fear in the audience and I think this is a good way to show what used to happen. 

3 MIN - Cavity check and American National Anthem. We use the national anthem to show that America is involved and to add irony to the scene because of the context of the national anthem.

Opinion- I think that National Anthem being used in the performance will be ironic because it will show how the National Anthem is not as good and sacred as once thought, while also showing how proud and brave the American National Anthem shows they are. 

4 MIN - Torture scene. To show what the detainees go through and to show the trainees (audience)
               what they need to do as well adding disorientation due to the lights and music.

Opinion- I think that this will make the audience feel sympathy while also becoming scared because of the scene around them; but the scene is not violent and is more of a movement piece now so that it is not too intense for the audience. 

5 MIN - Continuation of torture scene.
6 MIN - Audience Is moved to left side. 

               String scene (Detainee mental breakdown good vs. evil)  and stress positions. The string                       scene is showing a detainees mental breakdown where one side of his mind is telling him to                 be strong and the other is making him think the worst and loose hope. The stress positions                   are done to show how the detainees had to spend a long time in certain positions to cause                     pain and discomfort

Opinion- We move the audience to involve them in the play even more making it more immersive. I think the string scene is good because it shows how the mind of a detainee is breaking down and how they are slowly going insane. The stress positions are a good idea because other actors something to do and will show the audience some examples. 

7 MIN - Continuation of String scene (Detainee mental breakdown good vs. evil)  and stress positions.
8 MIN - .Humanity of guards speech and phone home. This is to add more emotion and to make the audience feel empathy towards the soldiers and sets the mood for the video.

Opionion- The phone home scene is there to add more emotion to the piece and will show a more desperate side to the guards and how they are not as heartless as we have made them seem. 

9 MIN - Audience is moved to wall back wall. 
               Video. The video is hard hitting and  will add a lot of emotion; we want to leave                                   them questioning what they are doing and to try and make them have a new aspect of their                   way of thinking about Guantanamo Bay.

Opinion- I think the video will create a intense emotion and feeling of sadness and will make the audience really think about their actions. They will also probably begin to question how good the world is really.

10 MIN - continuation of video and audience leaves. The audience will be leaving because we will tell them they have failed. This is a good way to get them out of the room quickly,

Opinion- I think the way we get the audience out is quick paced because we need them to move on to the next segment so it is a good way of getting them out. While also including some slight fear. 

Stylistic Elements used:

We use immersive as that is what the whole performance is based on.

We use slight promenade theatre during the torture scene. 

List of some detainees

Shaker Aamer	Saudi Arabia	Jan 2002	Last British resident held without charge or trial. Has been described as unofficial spokesman for the prisoners. Alleges that he has been tortured. Released Oct 2015.
Said Abasin[12]	Afghanistan		Kabul taxi driver who was proved innocent and released after over one year of detention.[13]
Abbasi, Feroz	United Kingdom	—	Released Jan 2005
Adnan Farhan Abd Al Latif[12]	Yemen		Committed suicide in the camp on September 8, 2012.[15]
Abdallah, Muhamed Hussein	Somalia	—	Captured in Pakistan in May 2002 and was transferred to Somaliland on November 4, 2008.[16]
Abderrahmane, Slimane Hadj	Denmark	—	Released Announced intention to 'return to the fight'
Abdul Rahman, Wesam[12]	Jordan
Abdulahat, Emam	China	—	Ethnic Uyghur Went through CSRT
Abdulghupur, Hajiakbar	China	—	Ethnic Uyghur Continued detention considered by CSRT
Abdullah, Abu[12]	Algeria
Abdullah, Ahmad[12]	Morocco
Abdullah, Noorudeen[12]	Morocco
Abdullah, Umar[4]
Abdulqadirakhum, Abdullah	China	—	Ethnic Uyghur Went through CSRT
Abdulraheem, Othman[12]	Yemen
Abdulsalam, Reswan[12]	Morocco
Abdurehim, Dawut	China	—	Ethnic Uyghur Went through CSRT
Abedin, Zain Ul	Tajikistan	—	Transferred to Tajikistan on October 31, 2008.[17]
Adil, Ahmed	China	—	Continued detention considered by CSRT
Agha, Muhammad Ismail	Afghanistan	2002	12–13 years old when he was captured [18][19] Released on January 28, 2004
Ahmad, Ali	Pakistan	—	Released [20]
Ahmad, Ejaz[12]	Pakistan
Ahmad, Hamed Abderrahman	Spain	—	Repatriated to Spanish custody, tried, convicted, and released on appeal[21] Ahmed's name does not appear on the May 15, 2006 DoD list of Guantanamo detainees
Ahmad, Majid Mahmud Abdu
Ahmed, Abdul Rahman Uthman	Saudi Arabia	—
Ahmed, Ali Abdullah	Yemen	—	Died in custody on June 10, 2006
Ahmed, Fahmi Abdullah	Yemen	—	Continued detention considered by CSRT
Ahmed, Faluvi Abdullah[12]	Yemen
Ahmed, Faruq Ali	Yemen	—	Continued detention considered by CSRT
Muhammed Ijaz Khan	Pakistan	—	Repatriated fall 2004[22][23] Released June 28, 2005 Ahmed's name does not appear on the May 15, 2006 DoD list of Guantanamo detainees
Ahmed, Munir	Pakistan		Repatriated fall 2004[22][23] Released June 28, 2005 Ahmed's name does not appear on the May 15, 2006 DoD list of Guantanamo detainees
Ahmed, Ruhal	United Kingdom	2001	Released March 2004 Alleges abuse
Ahmed, Sarfraz[12]	Pakistan		Name appears as "Sarfaraz Ahmed" on the Washington Post list of detainees Repatriated fall 2004[22][23] Released June 28, 2005 Ahmed's name does not appear on the May 15, 2006 DoD list of Guantanamo detainees
Akhmyarov, Rustam[12]	Russia	—	Repatriated to Russia in early 2004

Surnames beginning with Al[edit]

Name	Country	Captured	Notes
Al Aasmi, Assem Matruq Mohammad[4]
Al Adahi, Mohamed[12]	Yemen
Al Ajmi, Abdullah Saleh Ali[12]	Kuwait	—	Repatriated on November 4, 2005 Killed himself in a suicide attack in Iraq in April 2008 in which seven others died[24][25]
Al Amin, Mohammed			Reported to have been sexually abused, beaten, starved, sleep deprived[26] Al Amin's name does not appear on the May 15, 2006 DoD list of Guantanamo detainees
Al Anazi, Abdullah[12]	Saudi Arabia
Al Areeni, Khalid[12]	Saudi Arabia
Al Asadi, Mohamed Ahmed[12]	Yemen
Al Aseemi, Fahd Sultan Ubaid[12]	Saudi Arabia
Al Askari, Mohsin Ali[12]	Yemen
Al Asmar, Khalid[12]	Jordan
Al Assani, Fahmi Salem[12]	Yemen
Al Atabi, Buad Thif Allah[4]
Al Azmi, Saad Madai Saad[12]	Kuwait	—	Repatriated on November 4, 2005
Al Azraq, Majid Hamoud[12]	Yemen
Al Baasi, Mohsin Abdullah[12]	Yemen
Al Badaah, Abdul Aziz bin Abdur Rahman[12]	Saudi Arabia
Al Bahlul, Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman	Yemen	—	Alleged to have made recruiting videos for al Qaeda One of the first four detainees to face charges before military commission[27] Al Bahlul's name does not appear on the May 15, 2006 DoD list of Guantanamo detainees
Al Bahooth, Ziyad bin Salih bin Muhammad[12]	Saudi Arabia
Al Baidhani, Abdulkhaliq[12]	Yemen
Al Balushi, Salah Abdul Rasul Ali Abdul Rahman 4
al Banna, Jamil	Jordan, UK resident	—	Apprehended on a business trip to Gambia Released
Al Barakati, Khalid[12]	Saudi Arabia
Al Bedani, Abdul Khaled Ahmed Sahleh	Saudi Arabia	2001
Al Bidna, Sa Ad Ibraham Sa Ad[4]
Al Blooshi, Salah Abdul Rasool	Bahrain
Al Busayss, Adil Said Al Haj Obeid	Yemen
Al Daihani, Mohammed Fenaitel Mohamed	Kuwait	—	Repatriated November 4, 2005
Al Daini, Omer Saeed [12]	Yemen
Al Darbi, Ahmed[12]	Yemen
Al Dhabbi, Khalid Mohamed Saleh[12]	Yemen
Al Dhabi, Salah Mohamed Saleh[12]	Yemen
Al Dihani, Mohammed Funaitel[12]	Kuwait
Al Dossary, Juma Mohammed Abdul Latif	Bahrain	—	Hunger striker Reported to have attempted suicide during his lawyer's visit in October 2005

Recent Guantanamo News.

http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2015/11/obamas-guantanamo-move-will-face-significant-debate/


Quotes from text- Earlier this month, President Obama signed the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act which, among other things, included restrictions designed to block the Executive Branch from moving Guantanamo detainees to federal prisons into the United States proper. This comes as the Obama administration is preparing a report that outlines options for closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and marks the beginning of another political and legal battle surrounding the infamous facility.
I have included this because it will keep me up to date in whats happening

19/11/15

Gesture exercise
We created 9 gestures to go with 3 scenes.

• Work
• Living room
• Restaurant

We had to do this in a short space of time to make it quick and easy.

We then had to do this to music and had to repeat it going faster and faster. This then looks comical and fun but can be potent when put in a more devastating play. 

The gestures were big to give it more effect and to make it stand out more

Bill, Lula and Esme showed theirs in class. Their work looked structured and had a consistent repeating of their actions which worked well.  They had it planned out and it looked good.


In our performance work time we started to pull everything together. We decided that we would have a torture scene which will be a more movement based segment because we think it will work well with the music. The beginning is when we decided we would introduce what certain things were. Me, Billy and Sophia started to decide what our mini scene would look like, but we didn't have enough time and was confused on how to present our piece.- We will work on it on Monday. Lula made a short movie which contains images and a voice over which is going to be used in the final scene. The movie will really help bring emotion to the piece because it is so hard hitting.

Recent news on guantanamo shut down delay

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/nov/18/obama-delay-release-plan-close-guantanamo-bay-dete/

Dear reader

Dear Reader,

Do you know? They never questioned him, never asked him about anything. So why was he there? What did they want to keep him for? No one could tell me.

It was… it was starting be too much he was starting to get depressed, Too depressed.  Prison was killing him slowly.

But me? Well, maybe woman are different we have to be strong for the children.

One thing I’ll never forget is how the people there looked at us, when we came into that hotel with police. They looked…… as though we were criminals. It was horrible. I couldn't bear it.

Can you?

This is written to give out to the audience to add a more emotional effect. 

Songs used in Guantanamo

MEOW MIX JINGLE

The strategy behind utilizing this recognizable jingle, according to investigative reporter Justine Sharrock, is that it makes the public laugh rather than actually consider the maddening reptition torture. Apparently, this jingle would be played after a heavy metal session, and the shift in dynamics would be unbearable irritating.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

"We Will Rock You" wasn't the only Queen classic that was used to torture prisoners. After the US Army raided an Iraqi security firm, this was the song of choice for the unofficial prison camp. It was probably chosen more for the arrogance factor than anything else.

SESAME STREET

In the same vein as the "Barney" songs, the US has used songs from the popular children's show "Sesame Street" in their prison camps. At least the prisoners will REALLY know their ABCs.

ENTER SANDMAN

While heavy metal fans can't get enough of Metallica's opus, US prisoners definitely have. The song was played at cacophonous levels in Guantanamo Bay and military prisons.

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING

During the Waco siege in the early 1990s, the FBI blasted music for 51 days to torture the people inside the Mt. Carmel structure. Songs included various Christmas carols, and Nancy Sinatra's famous tune.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

A leaked report from Guantanamo Bay reveals that the songs "Can't Stop" and "Californication" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers were used to torture a suspected terrorist in 2002. Flea, legendary bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was heartbroken to discover this

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER

The Bee Gees' super-disco soundtrack became the bane of Pakistani-Englishman Moazzam Begg's time in the U.S. military prison system. In his comprehensive memoir, Begg described the ceaseless '70s torture in excrutiating detai

TUPAC

We're guessing these CIA prisoners must have been Biggie fans. Songs from Tupac Shakur's album "All Eyez on Me" were used during CIA interrogation techniques

BABY, ONE MORE TIME

Is it the 1990s or a CIA prison? Apparently both of them played Britney Spears' breakout smash ad nauseum. "Baby, One More Time" remains a beloved song to this day, so it's difficult to imagine it being used for torture, but after days of repetition any song becomes unbearable.

THE REAL SLIM SHADY

"The Real Slim Shady" led to a breakthrough for Eminem, but it led to a breakdown for some of the CIA's captives. Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopan national who was detained as an enemy combatant, suffered this screamy rap song for 20 days, and claimed that he could hear people screaming and hanging their heads when the song restarted.